Fraught With Danger – December 1873
The life of a maritime worker can be a hazardous one. Throughout history, accidents or physical violence at sea or on shore resulted in various types of injuries or sometimes even death.
As noted in the 13 December 1873 issue of The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, a native Hawaiian sailor was killed on board Luka:
Transcript:
FATAL ACCIDENT ON A COASTER.—On Wednesday of last week at Anahola, Kauai, a native sailor named Keonekapu, employed on board the schooner Luka, was suddenly killed by the breaking of the brake of the windlass at which he was at work assisting to take the anchor. A piece of the broken brake struck the man, crushing his jaw and fracturing his skull, killing him instantly.
We’ve come a long way, but these kinds of incidents still happen. Fortunately, with better port-state, flag-state, and classification society oversight, the frequency has been greatly reduced.